They might survive their meal but I doubt that the unlucky few mentioned in Blowfish testicles poison seven in Japanese restaurant (Guardian, January 27) will be repeat customers of the Tsuruoka establishment.
I did learn that in order to serve this 'delicacy' known as Fugu to Japanese you need a fugu licence.
The owner of the Tsuruoka eaterie did not have one.
While asking if Fugu is the deadliest fish Setsuko Yoshizuka teaches us that "in western Japan, fugu is called "fuku," which means to blow or happiness" and also that "the kanji (Chinese characters) used to write fugu indicates river pig."
Besides being hazardous to your health 'fugu" dishes are painful to your wallet as the writer reports that "one meal can cost $100 to $200 per person at a famous restaurant".
Related: Le Jardin des Saveurs in Fruit Gardens of Laquenexy, Northeast France